Fender mounted directed-beam automobile head lamp



Feb. 26, 1952 w. J. PATTON 2,587,374

FENDER MOUNTED DIRECTED-BEAM AUTOMOBILE HEAD LAMP Filed June 27, 1947 INVENTOR.

" Patented Feb. 26, 1952 FENDER MOUNTED DIRECTED-BEAM AUTOMOBILE HEAD LAMP William Joseph Patton, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application June 27, 1947, Serial No. 757,493

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to head-lamps for automobiles or the like and it relates more particularly to certain new and improved .di-

rected-beam lamps which are simple and inexpensive. to manufacture and which provide more effective illumination with a minimum of glare.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive, but effective head-lamp for use in wheeled vehicles.

Another object of my invention is to provide a head-lamp, the cost of which is far below the cost of presently-used head-lamps, but which, nevertheless, is highly effective because it has a concentrated beam of light emanating therefrom with a minimum of glare to blind the on-coming motorists.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a unitary housing and reflector for a directed-beam lamp which will be inexpensive to manufacture, simple to install, easy to repair and which requires a minimum of attention while in use.

A further object of the present invention is to produce a reflector for a directed-beam lamp, such as is commonly used on automobiles, which reflector is cylindrical in shape, thereby minimizing the cost of producing such reflecting surface.

A further object of my present invention is to provide a cylindrical lamp-housing having a long, narrow rectangular slit axially cut in said housing, and having the source of light disposed within said housing and substantially below a horizontal plane passing through said slit and the. axis of said cylinder.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cylindrical lamp-housing having a minimum of parts, so as to reduce the cost of fabricating of said lamp, said lamphousing having at one end thereof an easily accessible opening whereby to replace bulbs or other lightsources.

With above and other objects in view, the

present embodiment of my invention consists of .a length of seamless (or seamed) tubing of circular cross-section, having a highly polished interior surface, suitable for use as a reflector for any source of light placed within the cylinder,

said length of tubing having a slit disposed along its surface, which slit has a substantially small arcuate dimension and a substantially longer axial dimension, said length of tubing being closed at one end with a cover having a highly polished interior surface and a flange which is welded or otherwise permanently secured to one end of the length of tubing, the other end of said length 2 of tubing having external threads cut thereupon so as to receive the internally-threaded flange of a second cap or closure, which also has a highly polished interior surface. Disposed Within said length of tubing is a source of light which may consist of one or more bulbs of the type commonly used in automobile head lights, but having its filament or center of such source of light placed below a horizontal diameter of said tubing, which diameter intersects the surface of the tubing where the said slot is cut therein.

The above and other objects in view will appear more fully from the following description and drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawings a form thereof which is at present preferred, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which the invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and organizations of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a fanciful representation of an automobile wherein my present invention is used as the head-lights of said automobile.

Figure 2 represents a vertical section disposed axially along the housing of my present invention.

Figure 3 represents a vertical cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 represents a vertical cross-sectional View indicating one method of mounting the present invention within the fender of an automobile.

Referring first to Figure 2, my invention consists of a piece of tubing I0 which is circular in cross-section and which has a highly polished interior surface II to serve as a reflector for any light source 22 placed within said tubing. Said tubing may be inexpensively fabricated from any standard seamed or seamless tubing, wherein the interior surface has been highly polished or plated or given a highly reflective surface by one of many methods well known to the trade. The use of a standard tubing cylindrical in cross-section greatly reduces the cost of fabricating my invention, since such circular cross-section tubing is the least expensive to manufacture, and is, therefore, an inexpensive At one end Ill-a of said tubing, I firmly secure a closure or cap l2 having a highly polished interior surface 13 and having an in-turned flange M which can be soldered, welded or otherwise securely fastened to the end ill-a of said tubing Ill.

The other end lO-b of said tubing Iii has an external thread i5 out thereupon so as to receive the internally threaded flange iii of another cap or closure N. This cap or closure I! also has a highly polished interior surface l8.

An elongated slit or slot or opening i9 is pierced in the surface of the tubing I0, said slot being substantially rectangular in shape and having its longer side 28 parallel to the axis of said tubing and having its shorter side 2| disposed along the arcuate surface of the tubing in a plane at right angles to the axis of the tubing.

The dimensions of said slot 19 are limited only by the width of the ray or beam which is desired to emanate from said housing. Thus, for instance, I have shown a slot 19 which has a major dimension substantially twice the width of the bulb or source of light placed within said tubing, but this major dimension may be increased to provide a wider beam or decreased to provide a narrower beam as the case may be. The minor dimension of the slot may be increased or decreased, thereby determining the vertical size of the desired beam or ray.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, I have illustrated as a source of light a lamp 22 which is supported by a base 23. Said base 23 is supported in an aperture 24 within said tubing H). The aperture 24 is displaced from the slot i9 (for example, by 90) so that the vertical axis of a bulb 22, placed within a mounting 23 in said aperture 24, is substantially at right angles to a horizontal diameter of said tubing which passes through the slot l9. Such lamp and housing may be of any standard form or variety which are well known to those skilled in the art, and, because it is a standard part, it will be inexpensive to purchase and install within said tubing.

The diameter of the tubing 18 may be varied at will so as to providea housing and a reflector as large, or as small as is desired. However, since the light bulb 22 and base 23 may be selected from among many sizes and shapes available from the manufacturers of such items, it is desirable to choose. a bulb and socket of such size as will bear a proper relation to the diameter of the tubing previously selected as the housing and reflector. Conversely, if it is desirable to choose a bulb and socket first (because of cost or other facts influencing the choice of said items), the diameter of the tubing should be properly selected with respect to the size of said bulb and socket.

Although it is possible to vary the limits of such items as the diameter of the tubing and size of bulb and socket, I have chosen, in the present embodiment of my invention, a bulb and socket of such size that the light source 25 (namely, the filament of the bulb) will be substantially below .a horizontal: plane intersecting: the axis of the tubing and the surface of the tubing at the point wherein the slot i9 is disposed. By so placing the filament of the bulb below the horizontal level of the slot, I have found that a maximum of directed light and a minimum of stray or glare-rays can be produced, thus increasing the effectiveness of my lamp as a head lamp for automobiles or other vehicles.

If, because of decreased cost or other factors, seamed tubing instead of seamless tubing is used, the method of fabricating the housing is substantially the same as heretofore described, taking care, however, to place the slot I!) along, or substantially in the vicinity, of the seam 2'5, as shown in Figure 2, thereby utilizing the highly polished and uninterrupted interior surface of the tubing as a reflector.

Referring now to Figure 1, I show a fanciful representation of an automobile wherein my present invention is employed as the head-lamps ofsaid vehicle. Because of the desirability-of maintaining airflow contours in the present-day automobiles, my invention is particularly adaptable for'mounting within the front fenders of an automobile, in contiguous relationship to the inner surface of said fenders, because of itsfcircular cross-section which blends nicely with the radius or contour or the fender. These head lamps may be mounted in any manner well known to those skilled in the art, or for instance, by the bracket 30 shown in Figure 4, wherein the slot 59 of my present invention is disposed directly behind another slot 21 in the fender 32 of the automobile, with a piece of glass or other transparent material 28 disposed therebetween in order to keep foreign matter from passing to the interior of the cylinder '10. A shock-absorbing washer 29 may be placed between the glass 2? and the cylinder H) to serve the dual purpose of protecting the glass 21 and sealing the opening A9 in the cylinder 10.

Since present-day automobiles are serviced by lifting the hood til-a of the automobile 3!, thereby. giving access to the interior areas including the interior ,of the front fenders 32 and 33, I prefer to mount my present invention within the fenders of said automobile in such manner that the removable cap or closure H of each lamp is disposed adjacent the center of the automobile, namely, towards the opening created when the hood Bil-a is raised. Thus, the removable can or closure I? is readily accessible by the mere lifting of the hood, and burned out bulbs can easily be replaced by simply unscrewing the cap l1, replacing the bulb 22 in the socket 23 with a new bulb, and replacing the cap l1. 7

Such head-lamps may be employed in veh cles other than the automobile, such as motor cycles, bicycles and the like, wherein they will not be enclosed within an air foil surface but will be exposed to the elements except for a transparent closure for the slot 19. The cylindrical external surface of these lamps will, therefore, present a minimum of wind-resistance, and the operation of the vehicles will be facilitated by the use. of my present invention as a head-lamp thereon.

The housing, instead of having its inner surface silvered, as described hereinabove, may be constructed of, or lined with, stainless steel which can be given a high non-tarnishing polish to serve as the reflecting surface.

I have found that the. fact that the area of the cylindrical reflecting surface is very much greater than the area of the slitthrough which the light emerges fromthe head-lamp of the present invention results in a non-glare beam which is much less disturbing to the drivers of oncoming cars than is the case with conventional head-lamps wherein the light from a generally parabolic reflecting surface emerges from a relatively large front window.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appended claim rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent:

A head-lamp adapted to be mounted Within an automobile fender and transmit light rays through a generally horizontal slot therein comprising a generally cylindrical housing having a reflecting inner surface and a lengthwise slotted front wall portion and containing a light source, a light-transmitting plate covering the slot in said front wall portion, and means for mounting the housing comprising a pair of brackets having outer end portions adapted to be secured to the fender, generally arcuate intermediate portions embracing the housing, and juxtaposed inner end portions, and means engaged with said inner end portions for drawing them together to hold the housing against the slotted portion of the fender and clamp the lighttransmitting plate between the slotted portions of the housing and fender.

WILLIAM JOSEPH PATTON.

10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 15 Number Name Date 1,489,056 Biernat Apr. 1, 1924 1,502,723 Hollander et a1 July 29, 1924 1,643,963 Stiles Oct. 4, 1927 1,737,995 Cooke Dec. 3, 1929 20 1,894,876 Kuhn Jan. 17, 1933 2,054,880 Bostic Dec. 22, 1936 2,128,461 Johnson Aug. 30, 1938 2,174,775 Bostic Oct. 3, 1939 )5 FOREIGN PATENTS H Number Country Date 266,339 Italy July 26, 1929 

